FAO's glossary of terms describes mycotoxins" as toxic secondary metabolites of fungi belonging, essentially, to the Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium genera. These naturally occurring chemical compounds can be produced on a wide range of agricultural commodities and under a diverse range of situations worldwide."

Mycotoxins pose threats to health of humans and livestock since they are known to be carcinogenic and are also held responsible for a number of disorders. In spite of efforts at prevention, they are considered to be a problem and many countries have regulations for their limits in food. 

( See http://www.fao.org/food/food-safety-quality/a-z-index/mycotoxins/en/ for more details).

Aflatoxin is a mycotoxin which is produced by Aspergillus. As per the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues ) Regulations, 2011 limits in India have been set for Aflatoxin @ 30 ppb (microgram /kg) for all articles of food and at 0.5 ppb for Aflatoxin M1 in milk. (microgram per kg).

Considering the importance of mycotoxins, a link to a web based sampling tool for estimation of mycotoxins has been given on FAO's website at

http://www.fao.org/food/food-safety-quality/publications-tools/food-safe...